


time (in destiny's hand)

by inlovewithimpossibility



Series: cerys' quarantine and chill fics [18]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Arrow (TV 2012) Season 6, F/M, Fluff, Quarantine and Chill Fic Drive (Arrow TV 2012), Time Travel, idek what this is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:20:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24276526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inlovewithimpossibility/pseuds/inlovewithimpossibility
Summary: “Wait so you’re saying this is the future?” Laurel asks, sitting on the edge of the bed as she looks up at Oliver.“Yes.” Oliver nods, his arms crossed over his chest with his bow slung over his quiver.“And you’re me?” Ollie asks and Oliver nods again, watching the way his younger self is struggling to wrap his head around the concept.“So, how do we get home?” Laurel asks and Oliver sighs, gesturing to the door.[time-travel fic wherein 'ollie' and laurel find themselves in the bunker circa s6 with olicity]
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak
Series: cerys' quarantine and chill fics [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1667249
Comments: 68
Kudos: 331
Collections: Quarantine and Chill Fic Drive 2020





	time (in destiny's hand)

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the Q&C fic drive prompt 'time travel' 
> 
> Twitter people will know that I wrote the majority of this fic around a year ago and found it in my folder a few months back. I posted a snippet of it on Twitter and people seemed to respond well to it, so I figured I may as well give it an ending and post it! Giving it an ending ended up being giving it an extra 2k but that's par for the course for me at this point 😂
> 
> The rating is only due to some explicit language 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy, please let me know if you do by leaving a kudos and/or comment, they make my day!

Felicity is exhausted.

She’s spent the last four nights straight searching for Cayden James but none of her searches are bringing anything up and she’s frustrated, upset, and just so goddamn tired.

All she wants is to spend a night with her boys, dinner and a movie on the couch, and to crawl into bed with her husband so she can sleep for a day straight.

But they make their sacrifices to save their city and the mission is what’s most important at the moment.

“Hi.” Oliver smiles at her as he approaches her station on the platform in the bunker. She’s leaning against the back of her chair, her eyes fighting to stay open and even her glasses aren’t helping the ridiculous headache she has right now.

“Hey. How was City Hall?” She asks, reaching her hands out for him to pull her up which he does with a chuckle before wrapping her tightly in his arms, breathing her in as he buries his head in her neck.

“Long. Difficult. Nothing new.” He sighs and Felicity hums, turning to kiss the side of his head.

“We’ll get there. We always do.” She tells him and Oliver sighs, squeezing her tightly.

“God, I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” Felicity smiles and Oliver hums, pulling back to cradle her face in his hands. She rolls her eyes at his scrutinizing gaze as he studies her features.

“Sweetheart, you should go home and rest for a few hours.” He tells her and Felicity shakes her head, looking towards her computers.

“I can’t. The searches need to be updated every two hours, I need to man them.” She explains and Oliver sighs, moving one hand to tuck her hair behind her ear.

“Will you at least go and lay down on the bunk in the backroom for a while? Honey, you haven’t slept in days.” He tells her in that pleading voice that he knows she’s never able to resist. It’s the softness that gets her every time and now, it has Felicity nodding with a sigh.

“Alright, but only for an hour. You have to promise to wake me up!” She tells him and Oliver smiles, nodding his head as he leans forward to press a soft kiss to her lips.

“I promise. Now, please go? I’ll feel a lot better knowing that you’ve at least slept once in the past seventy-two hours.” He tells her and Felicity smiles, leaning into his hand before she steps back, heading towards the back room.

“Fine, but only because I love you.” She calls over her shoulder and Oliver smiles, watching her with that amused expression on his face.

“I love you too.” He smirks before turning back to look at her screens.

“Boy better not mess up my searches.” She mutters under her breath as she rounds the corner into the back room of the bunker.

Truth be told, she’s glad Oliver is forcing her to get some sleep. She never works very well on this amount of shut-eye and she knows she needs to be on her A-game so that she can help the city as well as she’s capable of.

Oh yeah, she’s ready to fall into bed.

There’s just one problem with that.

It seems that the bed in the bunker is already occupied.

Felicity freezes at the sight of the couple in the bed. The man, curled up against the woman and slumbering peacefully, is facing away from her so she can’t tell if she knows who it is but the woman, whose eyes are also closed and her breathing even, is dangerously familiar.

Laurel.

This iteration with long brown hair and bare arms that bear none of the marks of their Laurel’s or Black Siren’s training.

Felicity stumbles back out of the room, her heels on the floor alerting Oliver to her presence.

“Sweetheart, I am not even touching your computers.” He tells her, his arms raised in surrender but Felicity merely frowns.

“You… you should come see this.” She tells him and Oliver frowns deeply, moving quickly over towards her as his eyes scan her body for injuries.

“What is it? Are you alright? What happened?” The questions fly out in quick succession and Felicity shakes her head, gesturing to the room.

“I’m fine, I promise. Just, go look, please. I honestly have no idea how to explain this.”

He frowns but takes a few cautious steps towards the room, Felicity following close behind him so she hears his gasp of surprise when he spots the figures on the bed.

“That’s…” He trails, almost unwilling to say it and Felicity frowns, looking up at him.

“Laurel. I… I don’t know who the man is.” She explains but Oliver is frozen, staring at the back of the man’s head.

“It’s me.” He states simply, causing Felicity to frown and as softly as she can in heels, make her way over to the other side of the room.

Sure enough, she’s looking at the sleeping face of her husband. He’s obviously a lot younger and he’s sporting that god awful hair, just like in the photo that used to sit on Moira’s desk at QC.

“What do you think… Who do you think they are?” Felicity asks, changing her question as she looks over at her husband who has that expression on his face. The one that he usually has whenever they teamed up with Barry and Kara.

“Only one way to find out. Would you get my bow, please? I don’t want to leave them alone in here.” He looks towards her and Felicity nods, moving quickly back into the main area and locating her man’s bow and quiver. His main motive for asking her to get the bow becomes clear when she re-enters the room and Oliver doesn’t let her step around him once he’s strapped his quiver to his chest.

“Oliver…” She sighs and Oliver sends her a look. “Don’t give me that! It’s you!”

“And I would most likely feel a lot better if we hadn’t just spent days trying to stop evil versions of myself and our friends from cutting out our friend’s heart and taking over our world.” He replies and Felicity sighs, knowing he has her there.

“Okay, I’ll stay behind you. But how do we wake them up?” She asks and Oliver shakes his head. He strolls over to the racking that they store things on there. Taking a hold of the metal frame, he shakes it vigorously, making a loud racket.

“Oliver.” Felicity hisses from the door and Oliver just smirks, gesturing to the couple in the bed who have been shaken awake by the noise. Oliver returns to stand in front of Felicity and frowns as he stares at the couple.

“Whoa, okay dude. My mom will pay any ransom you want if you call her.” The man in the bed answers and Felicity frowns as Oliver moves fully in front of her so she has to rise onto her toes to see over his shoulder. “Wait, hang on, where are we and why do you look like me?”

“But like… buff?” Laurel adds and Oliver frowns at the way her eyes are roaming over him like he’s a piece of meat.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Oliver asks, his voice deep and he stares the two of them down, watching the way Laurel retreats a little behind Ollie’s shoulder.

“We were at the mansion. We fell asleep.” Ollie tells him and Oliver frowns, looking towards Felicity.

“You didn’t see anything else? No light or portals or anything?” She asks and the couple in the bed frown.

“There was a burst of light but I thought it was just the sun. It was the middle of the day.” Laurel tells them and Oliver sighs, looking down at his wife.

“Do you think you can get a message to the Legends?” He asks and Felicity sends him a look. “Right sorry, rule number one, don’t underestimate the wife.”

“I knew you listened.” Felicity smiles and sends a look to Ollie and Laurel before she heads back to the platform and her computers.

“Who’s the girl? Did you say wife?” Ollie asks, looking after her and Oliver growls, glaring at his younger self whose eyes widen in intimidation.

“Don’t you even think about it. You so much as look at her the wrong way and this arrow will be lodged in your arm.” He tells her and Ollie nods slowly, disbelief all over his face.

“Can you tell us where we are, please? And why you look like Ollie?” Laurel asks, placing a comforting hand on her boyfriend’s shoulder.

“Alright, but you’re going to need to keep your minds open.”

* * *

“Wait so you’re saying this is the future?” Laurel asks, sitting on the edge of the bed as she looks up at Oliver.

“Yes.” Oliver nods, his arms crossed over his chest with his bow slung over his quiver.

“And you’re me?” Ollie asks and Oliver nods again, watching the way his younger self is struggling to wrap his head around the concept.

“So, how do we get home?” Laurel asks and Oliver sighs, gesturing to the door.

“Felicity is currently attempting to contact some of our friends who can help with this,” Oliver explains and Laurel nods her head.

“Can we go somewhere other than this weird room? Are we in some sort of basement or something?” Ollie asks as he looks around and Oliver closes his eyes for a second.

“Or something.” He responds but steps away from the doorway, holding his arm out to gesture them through the door.

Laurel gets up and struts out confidently. Ollie stumbles a little, but he follows, both of their eyes widening as they step out into the main area of the bunker. Felicity is stood on the platform, pacing back and forth as she speaks on the room.

“Okay, thanks for your help, Gideon.” She sighs before hanging up, turning to look at Oliver with a concentrated expression on her face. “Gideon says the Legends are currently all out on a mission, but she will have one of the girls call us when they get back.”

“What about Ray? Or that other guy, what’s his name… Nate?” Oliver asks and Felicity sighs, crossing her arms.

“Apparently they are in deep on researching a demon situation? I don’t know. Half of what those guys do sounds like a sci-fi show waiting to be written. Anyway, it’s a waiting game.” Felicity explains and Oliver nods, moving towards her.

“Did you explain the situation because maybe Sara…” Oliver starts but Felicity cuts in.

“One step ahead of you. Gideon said she’d inform her because she’s the captain but she will advise that Amaya and Zari perform the extraction.” Felicity explains and Oliver nods, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“You know, you could talk about us as if we’re people and not objects,” Ollie speaks up and Oliver and Felicity turn to look at him and Laurel, the former with a glare on his face. His younger self is really driving him up the wall.

“Hey, we’re just trying to get you home…” He responds, growling a little as he takes a step towards the playboy billionaire but Felicity stops him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Okay, okay, let’s all take a deep breath. We’re sorry for the wording of that. We are just trying to get you back to your time as safely as possible. Would either of you like a drink?” Felicity offers, smiling at them, and Laurel perks up a little.

“A glass of water, please. And is there any possibility you have some clothes lying around?” She asks, blushing a little as she looks down at her outfit of sweatpants and her Ollie’s shirt.

“Water it is and I think Dinah left some clothes in the back which should fit you. I think anything of mine will be too short.” Felicity frowns as she walks towards Laurel. She stops, looking towards Ollie with a raised eyebrow.

“What?” He asks defensively and Felicity frowns, crossing her arms.

“Would you like a drink?” She asks again and Ollie blushes a little, sticking his hands in his pockets.

“You got coffee?” He asks and Felicity scoffs, sending her husband a look. Oliver blushes a little too, knowing that his wife is wondering how the two of them are the same people.

“Yeah, we got coffee. You drink it black too?” She asks and Ollie’s face distorts in obvious dislike.

“Black coffee? Ew, no. Milk, one sugar please.” He tells her and sends her a charming smile but it just has Felicity rolling her eyes.

“Got it. You want one, honey?” She questions, turning to look at her husband who smirks a little.

“I thought you didn’t get me coffee.” He asks and Felicity chuckles, tilting her head affectionately as she looks at him.

“I’ll make an exception in extenuating circumstances.” She tells him and Oliver smiles.

“I’d love one. Thank you.” He winks and she nods her head, turning back to Laurel.

“Come on then, let’s find you some clothes.”

“So that’s your wife?” Ollie asks after the girls leave the room and Oliver hums, not wanting to engage too heavily with his former self. The kid annoys him if he’s being truly honest. He doesn’t like looking back on who he once was because who he once was is a dick. “How long you been married?”

“Three months.” Oliver smiles, unable to stop it as he thinks about Felicity and the fact that he’s finally married to her, he’s where he’s wanted to be for so long.

“Oh cool, newlyweds. So um, we _don’t_ marry Laurel?” Ollie asks, looking towards his future self who sighs deeply, gesturing to a chair. Ollie sits down as Oliver leans against the desk, his arms still crossed over his chest.

“I think you and I both know that there’s one person invested in your relationship with Laurel and it’s not you.” He comments and Ollie frowns, looking to where Laurel and Felicity just disappeared to.

“Did Laurel say something to you?” He asks and Oliver scoffs, shaking his head.

“She didn’t need to. I’m _you_ remember?” He asks and Ollie nods.

“Oh yeah. I’m you.” Ollie smiles and Oliver rolls his eyes.

“No.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m you but you are not me. Not yet anyway. You’ve got a lot of growing up to do before that happens.” Oliver explains and Ollie frowns, raising his hands in surrender.

“Alright, Mr. Moral High Ground. Jesus, you pee on one cop car and suddenly you’re a social pariah. At least I don’t spend all my time in a weird underground bunker. What’s with all the weapons anyway? Doesn’t seem like you’re exactly a law-abiding citizen.” Ollie retorts, looking around the bunker and Oliver only finds himself growing more and more irate.

“Everything I do, I do for my family and my city. My main focus is on keeping them safe. They are the only thing that matters.” Oliver growls and Ollie scoots Felicity’s chair back a little.

“Has anyone ever told you you’re a little intense?”

Oliver growls and walks away before he feels the need to punch himself in the face.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the backroom, Felicity busies herself making coffee whilst Laurel changes.

“So, you and Ollie are married?” Laurel asks from behind the door as she dresses in the tight jeans, t-shirt, and leather jacket. She briefly wonders why everything in 2018 is so tight? It seems the days of bootcuts are long gone.

“Nearly three months,” Felicity replies with a smile on her face, her hand instinctively dropping to fiddle with her ring. “And you should probably call him Oliver, it will help to differentiate. Plus, no one really calls him Ollie anymore. Apart from Thea, and Sara.”

“And me, right? I don’t think I could ever stop calling him that, it’s what I’ve called him since we first met.” Laurel smiles as she comes out from behind the door.

“Oh right yeah. You too.” Felicity lies, the pain jolting through her as she looks at Laurel. The girl she’s looking at isn’t the friend she lost but she’s also so much more like their Laurel than Black Siren and it’s taking everything in Felicity to not just pull her into a hug.

“So what happened between Ollie… sorry, _Oliver_ and I? It’s just, he gave me this necklace and Moira assured me it’s like a pre-engagement thing in the Queen family and I just… I was sure marriage was where we were headed.” Laurel explains with a frown as she looks at Felicity.

“It’s um… not wise to know too much about your future.” Felicity answers coolly, not wanting to give anything away that might cause any distress or make Laurel angry.

“Come on. You’ve got to give me something! I just found out the man I’ve been wanting to marry since I was thirteen is married to someone who, no offense intended, really doesn’t seem like his current type.” Laurel comments, casting a critical eye over the blonde in front of her, and Felicity whirls around, raising an eyebrow.

“Excuse me?” She asks, sinking into her hip and crossing her arms.

“I just… he’s not really into blondes.” Laurel comments, shrugging her shoulders and Felicity takes a moment to appreciate the irony of the comment, considering the color Laurel moved towards as she grew older.

“Well, I dye it actually. Could you take that coffee for your boyfriend, please? Your water’s there too.” She comments with a fake smile and grabs the mugs in front of her, one black and one with her favorite combo of sugar and creamer before stalking out of the room and towards her husband.

She notices the distance between Oliver and Ollie and heads for the former, passing him his coffee with an inquisitive look.

“How was I ever that much of an asshole?” He groans and Felicity chuckles, placing her coffee down on the desk before wrapping her arms around her husband.

“No idea but you’re a lot better now.” She grins and Oliver raises an eyebrow, kissing her softly when she pouts her lips in her ‘don’t you dare doubt yourself in front of me’ expression.

Laurel tilts her head inquisitively as she watches the couple in front of her interact. Older Ollie, _Oliver_ she reminds herself, is exceedingly gentle in the way he touches his wife. It’s always soft, as if he’s terrified of hurting her. She’d almost think it sweet if she wasn’t watching her future fall apart in front of her eyes.

“Are you guys always this public about PDA?” She questions, unable to help herself and the couple break apart with a frown but the elevator opening distracts them from answering the question.

Laurel is even more confused as it reveals a boy with a bright red backpack, a confused but sort of excited look on his face as he enters the room.

“Oh wow, what is going on? Is it time travel? Please tell me it’s time travel. That would be so cool! Dad, did Felicity tell you we started Doctor Who?” He grins and Laurel immediately frowns.

“ _Dad?”_ Ollie asks, looking over to her and she merely shrugs, very confused as to what’s going on. If Ollie has a son this old, that means that he’s born back in their time or maybe he will be very soon? What if…?

But then, where is she and why is Ollie married to this blonde?

“This is my younger self, yes, and that’s Laurel with me. We’re not too sure what happened but the Legends are going to fix it.” Oliver explains and the kid grins, bouncing on his feet.

“Cool! Hi, I’m William.” He grins and Laurel and Ollie frown, still confused by the lack of explanation.

“William is my son,” Oliver states as if that explains everything.

“And his mom?” Ollie asks but Laurel realizes that was probably the wrong question to ask as the kid grows visibly sad and Oliver and Felicity throw them both angry parent glares.

“She’s no longer in the picture,” Oliver growls and they both nod, a little intimidated by his sudden change in demeanor.

“Anyway, what are you doing here buddy?” Felicity asks softly, turning to the child who smiles sadly at her.

“I was a little bored at home and I’m really struggling with this math problem so I got Auntie Thea to drop me here on her way back to City Hall. She said she texted you.” He explains and Felicity nods with a soft hum.

“We’ve been a little busy with this all sweetheart but it’s okay. Why don’t you go make yourself comfortable, make yourself a hot chocolate and I’ll be over in a bit to help with your homework? Alright?” She asks and William nods, smiling at his dad before he turns on his heels to make his way over to the table in the corner. “Oh, and William?”

“Yeah?” The kid asks, turning around with a confused look on his face.

“The Oreos are hidden at the back of the cupboard on the right.” Felicity winks and the boy lights up.

“Yes! You’re the best, Fliss!” William grins and rushes off to the back room with an excitement only children can obtain.

“I have a _kid?”_ Ollie asks, his voice shaking vulnerably and Laurel immediately moves towards him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

“Light of my life. Well him and this one.” Oliver smiles, nudging Felicity with his elbow gently which causes her to grin widely up at him, reaching up to stroke her hand over his beard.

“I have a kid and a wife.” Ollie states, his eye blown a little wide and Laurel rubs his shoulder soothingly.

“Hey, it’s okay. We know all this now so maybe we can change things a little.” She tells him quietly but it obviously wasn’t quiet enough given the reaction that comes from the other side of the platform.

“What did you just say?”

“I’m sorry, pardon?”

Laurel freezes, a blush creeping over her cheeks. “I just mean… if you tell us what the problem in mine and Ollie’s relationship is, then we can stop it from ever breaking down. We’re happy and I would like it to stay that way, right Ollie?”

“Um yeah… sure, babe.” Ollie frowns and Laurel’s head snaps back up at the scoff Felicity lets out.

“What?” She questions, raising an eyebrow at the little blonde who honestly doesn’t look like she could hurt a fly if she tried to.

“I’m just amazed at your nerve. To stand in front of us and will away _our_ happiness for your personal gain. Your Oliver, _Ollie,_ ugh awful nickname, by the way, has never been able to commit to you properly and sure, that might be a problem with his personality that he fixes over the years when he’s becoming _my_ Oliver but the fact that you have the nerve to will away our happy marriage and a _child_ who has done absolutely nothing except bring joy and happiness into our lives in a way neither of us imagined? That is _awful_ and I cannot believe you think it is acceptable.” Felicity scoffs, her voice growing louder and louder and her arms crossing over her chest until her stance mimics that of her husband’s.

“I… I’m just in shock.” Laurel states as her defense and this time it’s Oliver who speaks up.

“No, he’s in shock.” He replies, gesturing to his younger self. “You just wished a child dead. _My_ child.”

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Laurel reasons and Oliver shakes his head, looking back at his wife.

They appear to have some sort of silent conversation and Laurel briefly wonders how Ollie reaches this point? She barely knows where her Ollie is most of the time.

Felicity nods however and Oliver walks away, heading around a different corner. Laurel looks back to the blonde who sends her a stern look.

“I will be in the corner helping William with his math. Do _not_ touch anything and don’t follow Oliver because you will most likely end up with an arrow through one of your limbs.” She tells them, looking back and forth between the two of them before she too storms off, heading in the direction the boy had minutes before.

“Can you shoot an arrow?” Laurel asks absentmindedly, looking at her boyfriend who looks up at her with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

“We’re in the future, I just found out I have a kid and you want to know if I can shoot an arrow? Seriously?” He asks her, though he keeps his voice pretty level as he looks at her.

“I’m just trying to figure out how you ever become him.” She states and Ollie sighs, running his fingers through his hair.

“I don’t know. I didn’t think I’d ever care about anything other than partying but it seems I get over _that_ at some point.” He scoffs, looking around the military-grade bunker they’re stood in.

The sound of scraping and soft voices alerts them both to the fact that Felicity and William have re-entered the room, the latter equipped with a mug and a box of Oreos. They ignore Ollie and Laurel for the most part and true to Felicity’s word, begin to work on William’s homework quietly.

“This is crazy, right?” Laurel asks, looking around herself. There are weapons everywhere, mixed in with the type of technology that doesn’t even exist in those futuristic movies. What on earth Ollie needs a bunker like this for eludes her but she can figure one thing out from it. There must be some sort of root cause for this, something that sparks this change in the man she loves. No way is this purely development of his character, right?

“Which part?” Ollie asks, looking slightly overwhelmed and Laurel has to agree with her boyfriend. Even the fact that they’re in the future is mind-boggling and it’s completely blown Laurel’s world view to shreds.

She has a plan, she always has. She’s known for years that she and Ollie will get married and they’ll both be set.

Or at least, that’s what she thought.

But here they are.

She just cannot fathom how this can be true. Ollie _loves_ her and she loves him. They’ve been through so much together and Laurel knows that if she can just get him to put a ring on her finger, Ollie will grow up enough to stop all of his silly, childish behavior.

Or she knew that, now she’s not too sure.

That man, he looks so much like her Ollie, but he doesn’t act like her Ollie.

He’s harsher, quicker to snap. There’s none of the warmth she’s used to with her Ollie, the joking manner that makes up pretty much his entire personality, except for…

Except for when he looks at Felicity.

Watching them interact… it’s like nothing Laurel’s ever seen before. Every look they share is full of such passion and love like something right out of a romance novel. It’s the sort of thing Laurel never thought was an actuality, just something that teenagers dream of. She’ll admit that she’s wished Ollie looked at her like that every now and again but she’s convinced herself that she much prefers the stability he offers.

To see a version of him capable of that with another woman, however… it has her head spinning.

Suddenly, there’s a flash of bright light and what looks like a portal opens up in the space next to the platform of the bunker. There’s a glimpse of something that looks extraordinarily like a _spaceship_ on the other side before two women walkthrough, both frowning as they take in the room.

“Who are _you?”_ Ollie asks with a frown, stepping behind Laurel as he regards the two women with fear. Both are dressed in leather jackets and jeans with interesting looking necklaces around their necks. The taller one smiles warmly at them, her necklace gold with a pendant that looks like an animal’s face and spikes along the length of the chain. The shorter woman is less warm, her expression calculating as her eyes dart about the room. Her necklace too is gold but with a large pendant the color of a ruby.

“I’m Amaya, this is Zari. We’re here to take you home.” The taller one explains and Zari waves a hand in greeting, though her attention swiftly moves to Felicity and William as they re-enter the room.

“Amaya! Zari!” William grins, rushing over to the women in excitement and they both smile, Amaya accepting his hug and Zari ruffling his hair.

“It is very good to see you, little man. How’s that coding coming along?” Zari questions of the teenager, smiling down at him, and Laurel frowns as the kid grins up at her.

“It’s okay. Fliss has been helping, she’s way better at it than I am though.” William explains as his stepmother catches up to him and Laurel feels her stomach drop at the way the kid looks at her. It’s like she holds the answer to all of his questions, like he knows he’ll be safe so long as she’s there.

She’s a mother to him in every sense of the word.

“As I told you, years of practice, young padawan.” Felicity chuckles, smoothing down William’s hair where Zari ruffled it. Her words get a laugh from William but have the two women staring at her blankly. “Star Wars? Too on the nose?”

“I’ll educate them next time I get to go to the Waverider when you and Dad have date night,” William reassures her and the women all smile at him affectionately before they turn to look at Ollie and Laurel.

“So you two are taking us home, how? Through one of those strange portal things?” Laurel questions, looking at these strangers in trepidation. She’s not entirely sure how she ended up here and she’d very much like to go home, but the idea of walking through a portal to get there seems far fetched even after everything she’s experienced today.

“Yup! Time courier. _Very_ useful.” Zari explains with a small smirk, lifting her wrist to demonstrate the piece of tech.

Felicity immediately gently grasps it, pulling it closer to inspect before she lets out a low whistle. “You guys have upgrades.”

“The Time Bureau does. We may have borrowed them but what they don’t know won’t hurt them.” Amaya smirks, holding a finger up to her lips with a wink for William who laughs.

They all turn as Oliver reappears from wherever he went, looking slightly sweatier but still with a scowl. Laurel briefly notes that the slight sheen of sweat on his face adds an alluring quality to his built frame and handsome features before she blinks, shaking her head and forcing herself to concentrate on the baffling situation before her.

“Amaya, Zari, hi. Thanks for coming.” Oliver shakes the women’s hands when he reaches them before he sidles up next to Felicity and loops an arm around her.

“No worries, Oliver, this is kind of what we do.” Zari shrugs with a slightly cocky smirk as Laurel follows Ollie down off the platform to properly join the group.

“Is Sara…?” She hears Oliver ask quietly as they move and she frowns at the sound of her sister’s name, watching as both Amaya and Zari’s expressions soften to something resembling sympathy.

“She knows, she agreed it’s best if she stayed on the ship though,” Amaya explains just as quietly and Oliver hums whilst Felicity nods.

“Makes sense. Did you bring the flashers? We tried our best but there are some things we couldn’t keep from them.” Felicity questions with a wince and Laurel’s eyes widen as Zari produces a metal stick out of her back pocket that resembles something out of a sci-fi horror.

“Oh don’t worry, we know better than anyone that time travel’s a tricky business.” She smirks, tossing the object up in the air. She fumbles the catch a little but still smiles at Felicity who laughs with an affectionate shake of her head.

“What is that thing?” Laurel asks dubiously, a little scared of what this woman plans to do to her with it.

“Memory wiper. You’ll wake up back in your own time with no idea you ever left. Handy, right?” Zari tells her and that only deepens Laurel’s frown.

“So we won’t remember any of this?” She presses, confused as to what the point was then. Without knowledge of this, they can’t change it, she can’t ensure that she and Ollie work things out. Things will just go on as they were and Laurel will never even know she had this glimpse into the future.

She doesn’t know how she feels about that.

“Believe us, it’s better this way. The timeline is a tricky thing. You knowing your future, even the small details you’ve learned here today, could have a drastic impact and end up hurting you or the ones you love.” Amaya explains softly, regarding Laurel with a gentle smile and tilting head. Her kindness takes Laurel aback for a moment but she nods, taking in her words.

“Cool, this all feels like a trip anyway.” Ollie shrugs, smirking over at Zari who regards him with a repulsed expression before looking over at Oliver.

“I cannot believe that is you.” She states with a shudder and Laurel frowns as Oliver exhibits a similar disgust. It’s so hard to reconcile him with the boy that she loves and yet, he clearly _is_ him.

Maybe Amaya’s right, maybe just forgetting this whole thing _is_ the best way to go.

“He’s got some growing to do.” Oliver shrugs and Laurel shakes her head, straightening her posture as she smiles at Ollie and takes his hand. Her boyfriend frowns for a moment, looking as if he might pull away, but Laurel tightens her grasp, determined to control what she can.

“Right, let’s get you two time travelers back home, shall we?” Amaya asks as Zari keys something into the ‘time courier’ she talked about earlier. Laurel jumps as the portal appears but her eyes widen in shock as she realizes how much it resembles Ollie’s room at the mansion.

“Bye young Dad! Bye Laurel!” William calls as they start to head through the portal with a wave to them all.

“Safe travels.” Felicity smiles with a small wave of her own. Oliver doesn’t say anything, but Laurel watches as he tugs Felicity closer with the arm around her waist. He presses a long kiss to her hair before smiling down at William, his concentration entirely on his small family. 

* * *

Hours later, Laurel awakens in Ollie’s bed at the manor to the feeling of her boyfriend rushing around. She feels extremely odd, like she’s got a bad hangover and she frowns as a glance at the clock tells her it’s mid-evening.

“Did we just nap in the middle of the day?” She questions with a frown, looking over at where Ollie is scrambling to button up a shirt.

“Fuck. I’m late to meet Tommy.” He curses, shaking his head and Laurel frowns, trying to wrack her brain for any plans he told her he had today.

“Tommy, why?” She questions as she sits up, still unable to shake the entirely weird feeling she has.

“ _Wild_ party at Cameo tonight. I’ll talk to you tomorrow?” Ollie explains and Laurel frowns as he scoops up his phone and heads for the door without even a thought of a kiss goodbye.

“Let me know you get home safe, okay?” She calls out after him and he freezes, turning back to look at her.

“You know I’m safe. Bye!” He smirks his usual charming smile and then he’s gone. Laurel knows this is usual behavior for him, reminds herself that he’s just letting himself be free whilst he’s young.

But there’s also something different about this, something related to that odd feeling, that tells her maybe, just maybe, there’s something more to his dismissive behavior.


End file.
